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U.S. stocks traded higher right from the opening bell on Monday morning as China growth fears subsided and upbeat earnings reports hit The Street. Despite bullish price action all week, U.S. GDP missed on Friday and the S&P 500 Index failed to summit the 1,600 level for the second time in April, leading many technicians to believe that we may have a double-top on our hands [see Free 7 Simple & Cheap All- ETF Model Portfolios].

Actionable ETF Trade Ideas

Our picks from Monday’s Insider posted solid performance results as our sector-specific bullish suspicions were well timed. Below, we highlight how our trade ideas fared during the week [sign up for a free trial of ETFdb Pro to get actionable ETF ideas every Monday, as well as access to more than 50 all-ETF model portfolios].

This recommendation was well timed; as anticipated, XLK rebounded off support right off the bat on Monday morning. Bullish pressures from the earnings front carried this ETF higher for the remainder of the week as upbeat results from Akamai and Netflix resonated well for the tech sector. This ETF still has room to run given its recent history of posting higher-highs, which brings our target to right around $31 a share.

Trade #2 Long XLE: Up 3.0%

This recommendation also took advantage of positive earnings sentiment from the energy sector after bellwethers Exxon Mobil and Chevron beat analysts’ estimates. XLE rebounded off support and inched higher all week, although minor profit taking pressures on Friday did take a small bite out of our profits for the week.

Trade #3 Short SPHB: Down 2.7%

This defensive recommendation turned in a loss after the bulls ended up winning this week’s tug-of-war. SPHB kicked off the week with a rally that put our position in red territory right from the start; buying pressures persisted into Wednesday and we were forced to take a loss after our outlined stop-loss order was triggered at $23.25 a share.

Our regional strategies all ended the week in green territory as bullish sentiment permeated all corners of the globe. Year-to-date, the best performing strategy remains the Global Titans Portfolio while the laggard is still the Africa-Centric Portfolio.